Wild animals have the innate ability to hunt. They have to fend for themselves, unless they are pets, and then carers cater for their needs. They also attack instinctively if threatened, but in some cases, it is difficult to fathom out what has provoked them in the first place. That being said begs the question of what sparks confrontation?
The opposite of savagery is gentleness, so those human beings that can harness ferocity are unable to live together with others in peace. Peace clearly is an option worth contemplating when one considers the easiness of acceptance by letting go of ego and blending into harmonized tranquility. Why rock the boat when the hardship of disruptive suicide is a waste of time, as seen in the Middle East Palestinian conflict of recent.
The eye for an eye scheme doesn’t have any founding when one considers the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which has officially been going on since the Nakba. The Nakba, which means “catastrophe” in Arabic, refers to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. This begs the question of why it occurred in the first place and who was responsible?
First who owned the land of Israel before 1948? Palestine as it was called used to be Jewish over three-thousand years ago. They were the first settlers. Romans and other Arabs and then the Ottoman Empire conquered the region in 1517, ruling it until the British conquered it in 1917. The region was ruled under the British Mandate for Palestine until 1948, when the Jewish State of Israel was proclaimed in part of the ancient land of Israel.
The Arabs living in the region never wanted Jews to immigrate to the land because they have always thought they were the chosen ones whilst deep down they were unfounded. If truth be told they felt threatened because the Jewish minority before 1948 were more intelligent and cleverer at developing the land and making richness for everyone in the region.
An Englishman once wrote, “Indeed. First, those irrational Arabs of Palestine refused to give up part of their homeland to European refugees fleeing European persecution. Then, they stubbornly insisted on calling themselves Palestinians, even after Golda Meir informed them that no such animal existed. Their economy strangled, those ungrateful locals resented having to work as labourers building Jewish homes on their former lands, rather than thank Israel for giving them jobs. Next thing you know, West Bank Palestinians will want to use the roads reserved for their Jewish neighbours. Does such insolent temerity know no bounds?”
In 1947, the UK turned the Palestine problem over to the UN. After looking at alternatives, the UN proposed terminating the Mandate and partitioning Palestine into two independent States, one Palestinian Arab and the other Jewish, with Jerusalem internationalized (Resolution 181 (II) of 1947). Israel accepted, while the Arabs in the region wouldn’t agree. Subsequently, the UN has become allied to the Palestinian region of Arabs, and their cause of two states, their independence and return of land.
However, the Arabs have always been uncooperative to accept Israel and its right to the land. So much so that routinely even before 1948 Arab groups have massacred Jews living in the region. During Nakba they continued attacking Jews. (See more). Fortunately, Israel has developed its armed forces to protect its people and ward off any attempt, not only by Arabs in the region, but other Arab countries and supporters who have threatened Israel’s survival.
As a consequence, Israel had to attack the Arab nations that were planning a big scale invasion. Israel intercepted by striking first in the Six Day War of June 1967. Israel defeated the combined armies of Egypt, Syria and Jordan, capturing the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula. Some of the land has subsequently been returned, but some not. This not returned land is considered occupied territory by the Arabs and the UN. The question remains; what would have happened if Israel had not intervened and stuck up for their independence?
A Jew wrote, “Listen Buddy, I don't know if you are a Genocidal Jihadi yourself or one of their Western "useful idiots". Internalize this: (1) Israel/Palestine/Judea is the indigenous native land of Israelites/Hebrews/Jews; (2) Arabs are Islamic imperialists and colonial settlers that invaded from Arabia or in past century infiltrated from other areas attracted by Jewish prosperity; (3) Israelites/Hebrews/Jews have now returned to their homeland in a massive way; (4) You tried to defeat and annihilate them many times starting with 1948, and every time met with a worse result; (5) Face up to reality and give up your evil dream of exterminating another people in its homeland; (6) Only then will you find solace and prosperity, while otherwise you'll keep getting hit with disaster after disaster... I hope I made myself clear.”
To put it bluntly, every time Hamas/Hezbollah/or Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) amongst other fanatical groups send rockets into Israel, or send suicidal bombers across the border, or cause bloodshed by terrorist attacks like on October 7th then understandably Israel sends the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) to respond. The real stupidity is that over 75 years since independence many Arabs can not find it in their hearts to accept.
Consequently, they will continue to feel the wraith of full retaliation. If they avoided conflict then the region would be much friendlier while Palestinians would enjoy a pleasant and peaceful life.
Have a great day!
Prof. Carl Boniface
Vocabulary builder:
Innate (adj) = inborn, distinctive, characteristic, essential, native, instinctive, natural
Fend (v) = resist, stand, protect, oppose, secure
Carers (n) = guardians, protectors, godparents, custodians, caretakers, keepers, wardens
Confrontation (n) = hostility, conflict, cash, battle, skirmish, fight, war
Harness (v) = tie together, strap up, bind, connect
Ferocity (n) = the property of being wild or turbulent. synonyms: fierceness, furiousness, fury, vehemence, violence, wildness. types: savageness, savagery. the property of being untamed and ferocious.
Harmonized (adj) = consistent, coordinated, matched, coherent, synchronized, corresponding, in line, in agreement, (ant) jarred
Rock the boat (idiom) = say or do something to disturb an existing situation. "I don't want to rock the boat."
Eye for an eye (idiom) = "An eye for an eye" (Biblical Hebrew: עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן, ʿayīn taḥaṯ ʿayīn) is a commandment found in the Book of Exodus 21:23–27 expressing the principle of reciprocal justice measure for measure. The earliest known use of the principle appears in the Code of Hammurabi, which predates the Hebrew Bible.
If truth be told (idiom) = to be frank (used especially when making an admission). "I think, if truth be told, we were all a little afraid of him.
Temerity (n) = nerve, audacity, gall, cheek, boldness, impudence
Ward off (v) = defend against, protect against, deflect, hold off, keep at bay, fend off, fight off, discourage
Solace (n) = comfort, support, relief, help, (ant) aggravation
Put it bluntly (idiom) = in a very direct way, without trying to be polite or kind. Straight to the point. “To put it bluntly, I want a divorce.”
Wraith (n) = ghost, specter, spirit, apparition, phantom